Kiwi fruit muffins

Hands up who really loves kiwi fruit? I'm interested. Really. I've yet to come across anyone who names the kiwi as their favourite fruit. Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against the kiwi. I quite like it in fact. Especially the little black seeds. But I can't really get excited about a ripe kiwi fruit in the same way I might about a perfectly ripe and juicy pear or a luscious strawberry. It is not something you'd often find lurking in my fruit bowl either - I just wouldn't buy them, unless I was making a fruit salad or some exotic fruit dessert.

That was until recently. Over the last few months there have been rather a number of kiwis lying at the bottom of my fruit bowl, looking a little dejected. You see, at this time of year, Abel and Cole struggle to keep the fruit selection all that varied in the weekly organic box. So citrus fruit and kiwis have been the order of the day. I've tried hard to rise to the challenge, carefully peeling and then eating the odd kiwi fruit. But as fast as I can eat them, they seem to multiply. They won't even go mouldy (...which, dare I say it, would at least give me a valid excuse to dispose of them...)

I decided that action was required and first hit the web for inspirational kiwi recipes. I was underwhelmed with the selection, to say the least. But then my saviour arrived in the form of the excellent Abel and Cole cookbook. I spied a recipe for kiwi fruit muffins. Really. Sounds unlikely, doesn't it? But look - here they are...


Obviously, I had to make them. In the style of this excellent cook book, no scales are required. Just a regular sized mug and a touch of gentle mixing. I was rather pleased with the results. Not in a 'move over blueberry muffins,here come kiwi muffins' kind of way. Just that the muffins themselves were rather good. I've bemoaned my lack of muffin-making skills in the past. Previously, my muffins haven't been as risen and puffy as I would like. This time around they were pretty good. My preference would still be for some other kind of flavouring, I think, but actually the cinnamon was rather good with the kiwi. Definitely a good way to use up the kiwis - my only regret is that it didn't use up quite enough. I think the muffins could easily have carried a little more of the fruit. Here is recipe, re-written my way, but I really do suggest that you invest in this gem of a book.

If anyone has any good kiwi recipes they'd like to share, I do still have a few lurking in the bowl!

Kiwi Fruit Muffins
Makes 12


Ingredients

1 egg
1/2 a cup of milk
2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 mugs of plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 mug of caster sugar, plus a couple of tablespoons extra for sprinkling
1 tsp cinnamon, plus a bit extra for sprinkling

1/2 to 1 mug of peeled kiwi fruit, chopped into small pieces
butter for greasing

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C. Combine the egg, milk and olive oil in one bowl.

2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and add the sugar and cinnamon. Combine. Carefully mix the dry and wet together, taking care not to overmix. It doesn't need to be perfectly smooth.

3. Gently fold in the kiwi fruit.

4. Grease a muffin tray with butter (or use muffin cases) and dollop mixture into each hole. Fill about half-full.

5. Sprinkle over a little more sugar and cinnamon...


6. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes.

7. Cool on a wire rack (or obviously break into one whilst still warm and burn your tongue as I always do with any form of baking).

P.S. Not quite sure what happened to this one!! Something of a mutant...